State of Grace
by Allayiah
Summary: Luke and Lorelai experience life, love and loss.
1. First Steps

She squeezed his hand as the little coffin was carried to the front of the church. The little coffin that she had picked out so lovingly. She wanted her to be happy; she wanted everything to be okay. But it hadn't turned out okay. A little baby was lying dead in a coffin and she felt like it was all her fault. He kept reassuring her no one could have done anything. The doctors had tried all they could.

She couldn't possibly have anymore tears left, yet she felt a wave of new tears coming on. She rummaged through her purse but couldn't find any dry tissues left. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. He turned toward her, lifted her face up and wiped her tears with his thumbs. She looked into his eyes and could see that he was tearing up too. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

_Flashback _

Lorelei walked lethargically down the tree lined street to Luke's Diner. Luke's Diner: the place it had all started. She had met Luke seven years age when she wandered in for a cup of coffee. She knew there was something special about him the minute she set eyes on him. It had taken them five years to officially become a "couple." She looked down at the beautiful ring on her finger and smiled, remembering the night she had proposed. Then her mood soured when she thought about Rory. Her and her daughter had still not spoken and the rift in their relationship was causing a delay in the wedding plans.

She had been having a bad week and she really needed to see Luke. She entered the diner to the ringing of the bells on the door. She quickly scanned the diner and couldn't see Luke anywhere. "Luke, Luke," she called, walking up to the counter and plopping onto a bar stool. He appeared out of the kitchen and leaned across the counter to give her a quick kiss. "Hey, how you doin'?" he asked. "Okay, it's been a long week," she sighed. "I know how you feel," he replied as he poured her a cup of steaming hot coffee. "So are we still going out to dinner tonight?" he asked. "I don't know. I don't know if I feel like going out tonight," she said. "Yeah that's fine. I'll even let you pick the movie," he said trying to coax a smile out of her. She didn't smile back. "Thanks for the coffee," she said standing up to leave. He grabbed her arm just as she was turning around. "Hey are you feeling okay?" he asked with a concerned look on his face. "Yeah I'm just really tired," she said giving him a weak smile, "I'll see you at home." "Okay. See you," he replied. Luke knew something was wrong but he'd worry about that tonight.

_Flashback ends_

"We only knew her for a short time, but she brightened Start Hollow like no other little girl could. She constantly had a smile on her face and she possessed the ability to make others smile easily. We will all miss her, but we will always love that little doll." Babette stepped down from the podium and wiped her eyes. Lorelei smiled feebly up at Babette as she passed their pew. Babette hoped her words offered a little comfort to Lorelei. She couldn't imagine what she was going through. Lorelei turned back towards the front of the church as Luke stepped up to the podium.

_Flashback_

Lorelei walked into the front entrance of her house and dropped her keys on the hall table. She walked over to the bed (which was still in the living room because of the construction) and sat down to take off her shoes. Just as she was about to start making a pot of coffee the phone rang. "Hello," she said as she picked up the phone. "Ms. Gilmore?" "This is she," she replied. "This is Rebecca, Dr. Brennon's secretary. I'm calling to confirm your appointment for tomorrow at 12:15." "Yes, I'll be there. Thank you for calling," Lorelei said. "Okay we'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye," Rebecca replied.

"Lorelei, I'm home!" Luke called as he walked into the living room/bedroom. "How was your afternoon?" he asked. "Fine," she said. He leaned over and kissed her. "So I was thinking we could order out for dinner and watch a movie," he suggested. "I think I'm just gonna go to sleep," Lorelei said as she crawled into bed. She turned her back to Luke and tried to hold back her tears. Luke sat down on the bed and slipped his shoes off. He put his hand on Lorelei's shoulder and gently tapped her. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing," she said as she quickly wiped away her tears. "You know you can talk to me about anything," he reassured her. "There's nothing to talk about for sure yet," she mumbled.

Luke got up and walked into the kitchen for a beer. He knew she needed some space. He'd just try again later. He sat down at the kitchen and massaged his brow. It had been an especially tough week and he needed a break. He noticed Lorelei's open purse on the chair next to him and a brown paper bag sticking out of the top. He pulled out the bag and recognized the name on the bag as a pharmacy in Hartford. _I knew she was sick_, he thought as he peeked into the bag. He froze as he saw the label on the box inside the bag. _Wow this is anything but sick_. Inside was an already used pregnancy test. He opened the box but it was empty. _Damn_. He walked into the bathroom and noticed that the garbage was empty. _Man, she's good_. He headed outside to check the garbage bins. He saw that the trash cans outside were empty too. _Trash day_. He went back inside and sat down on the bed next to Lorelei. "We need to talk," he stated.


	2. Bundles of Joy

Lorelei rolled over to face Luke. "I know something is bothering you and I think I might know what. Just talk to me," Luke said. Lorelei slowly sat up and crossed her legs underneath her. She started to cry and Luke pulled her into his arms. "You can tell me whatever it is," he reassured her. "I…think…I…might…be…pregnant," she managed to get out between sobs. Luke gently ran his palm up and down her back. "Why are you so sad about that?" he asked. She turned her face up and looked at him. "You're not?" she questioned, "I thought you'd be mad at me." "Why would I be mad at you?" he said giving her a smile. "So you're not mad or upset or anything?" she asked quizzically. "I'm actually kind of excited to be dad," he answered. "Really?" she said. "Absolutely," he reassured her.

_Dr. Brennon's office_

Luke pulled into a parking space and cut the engine. "Well we're here," Lorelei said nervously. She slowly opened the car door and got out. Luke and Lorelei walked into the waiting room. "You can wait here," she told him, "I just have to go check in." She walked up to the registration desk. "Hi, I'm Lorelei Gilmore, here for a pregnancy test," she told the receptionist. "Okay you just need to fill out these forms and a nurse will be with you shortly," replied the receptionist. Lorelei walked over to where Luke was sitting and took a seat next to him. She quickly completed the forms and then started leafing through a magazine. "Are you nervous?" she asked Luke. "No, are you?" he replied. "A little, I don't know if I'm ready for a baby," she admitted. "It's okay. We'll get through this together. "What are people going to say? My second kid without being married," Lorelei said as her eyes welled with tears. Luke reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "It doesn't matter what people think. Besides we'll be getting married," he reassured her. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, "It'll be nice to have someone for this baby. Christopher was never there for Rory. At least I know you'll be there. Right?" "Of course. I'll always be there," he said leaning over to kiss her.

"Lorelei Gilmore!" called a short plump nurse. Luke and Lorelei got up and followed the nurse to room 3. "Dr. Brennon will be with you momentarily. I'm Laura, I just need to ask some questions," Laura explained. After Laura left, Luke and Lorelei were left alone in the room. Lorelei changed into her paper gown as she had been told to do so by Laura. A few minutes later a soft knock came at the door. "Come in," Lorelei and Luke said simultaneously. "Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Brennon," said the tall, aged doctor. "I'm Lorelei and this is my fiancé Luke," Lorelei explained. "Okay I see you're here for a pregnancy test," Dr. Brennon said looking down at her charts. "Yes," Lorelei replied. Dr. Brennon took a blood sample and left the room promising to be back momentarily.

"So do you think it's positive?" Lorelei asked Luke. "I hope so," Luke answered. "You really want a baby?" Lorelei questioned. "Yeah, I do," Luke said sincerely. "Even though it's kind of bad timing? I mean I figured we'd get married first," Lorelei said. "Yeah well things happen," Luke said shrugging his shoulders.

Twenty minutes later Dr. Brennon reentered the room. "So you two will have new bundle of joy in about seven and a half months!" Dr. Brennon told them. Lorelei looked over at Luke and saw that he was tearing up. He looked down at her and smiled. "We're gonna have a baby!" Lorelei said excitedly. The only thing Luke could muster was a smile and a hand squeeze.

"So we should start shopping for baby stuff. You know a crib, stroller, clothes…" Lorelei trailed off as they left the doctor's office. "Whoa slow down," Luke laughed. "We have quite a while to start worrying about that."


End file.
